Never Miss A Story.

Daily Edition

Konzack resigns from IM Internationalmedia

Empty

BERLIN -- Sascha Konzack resigned Thursday as CFO of troubled German group IM Internationalmedia, the parent company of Intermedia, leaving recently appointed CEO Konstantin Thoeren as the sole head of the company.

Konzack's resignation follows the exit of former IM head Martin Schurmann, who stepped down as CEO this summer and resigned as head of the company's L.A.-based subsidiary Intermedia Film last week.

Konzack cited personal reasons for his departure but said he would continue to provide support for IM in the interim to ensure the company can continue to deliver its fiscal and ad hoc reports to the market.

IM shares initially shot up in early trading Thursday but by mid-day had slipped back to around 0.08 euros ($0.12), up slightly on Wednesday's close but still firmly in the penny stock category.

IM has said it needs an injection of fresh capital if it is to overcome its current crunch.

The company booked a net loss of 12.8 million euros ($19 million) in the first nine months of 2007, a figure almost exactly equal to sales over the same period. Last year, IM lost 21.3 million euros ($31.6 million).

Financing problems that led to the production halt of IM's biggest film this year -- the actioner "Stopping Power" -- left a 7.9 million euros ($11.7 million) hole in the company's bottom line as IM was forced to cough up on pay-or-play deals with "Stopping Power" star John Cusack and director Jan de Bont.

IM has signed a deal with R Media Acquisition to hand R Media all rights and duties on "Stopping Power" in exchange for a $7 million loan. As collateral, IM put up a number of its library titles. R Media plans to restart "Stopping Power," and shooting is reportedly set to resume in early 2008.

IM is hoping for a stronger fourth quarter, as revenue from Intermedia's Richard Gere-starrer "The Hunting Party" starts to roll in.

The bulk of IM's shrinking liquidity is tied up in current productions.

Intermedia still has several promising films on its slate, including the horror title "One Missed Call," which Warner Bros. is set to release in the U.S. in January, and the in-development drama "The Prodigy" starring Richard Gere.

But IM has acknowledged that it must secure outside financing if it is to avoid collapse.

CEO Thoeren has said he is confident negotiations with potential investors will deliver a deal before IM runs out of cash.